>>57719375Beyond these problems of clutter, the core issue with the story is that Titania is the real main character and the player-character is not really a character at all but more of a strange puppet guardian angel who gently pushes the real characters this way and that (this is even highlighted by characters). The critical route division of the story is whether Titania stays with Amaria or not, and the decision, bizarrely, is made through two proxies: Taka and the player-character. If you played through the WTC as Titania and it was her decision whether to go along with Taka's charade or refuse to fight him, the symbolic meaning would be clearer: Taka reminds her of herself, and her choice to refuse to maintain his lie would also represent her refusal to maintain her own with Amaria. But this is even more deferred onto the player-character, who essentially makes a decision on behalf of Titania, which leads her to model the same behaviour. It's very strange.
My intuition says that Amethyst's hostility to player romance is related to this: she doesn't like the idea of a silent player-character 'self-inserting' and directly participating in the world, making real personal decisions, especially not when they involve something as raw and self-interested as sexual and romantic desire. But at the same time, her use of a standard Pokémon silent protagonist restrains her ability to tell the story that she wants. I think the closest you get to a real outside view of your player-character is Shelly naming a Leavanny after you (nurturing Pokémon that becomes violent when young are in danger, tying in nicely with the orphanage plot). But fundamentally the major decisions are not the ones which you make. Charlotte nicknaming your player-character 'wrecking ball' is apt because you are much more a tool of other characters and forces than a participant in the story with desires, feelings, thoughts, etc. You change a lot and affect the world—for other characters.
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